Reply #89: Let him join

[frazzled]

Denying him the right to participate with his friends will only boomerang later into blaming you for controlling his life. Then he'll become a right-winger just to piss you off.

Chances are he will want to stop going in two years anyway. Just smile and wait till he rolls his eyeballs about the whole thing himself.

In the meantime, let him enjoy some hiking and lanyard-making or whatever it is that scouts do these days. Try to get involved so you have some control over what activities the troop is doing.

Let your kids decide things for themselves, including whether to believe in God or not, or what kind of politics to adhere to. Believe me, they will follow your example more than your lectures. I hate it when I see these teabaggers using their children as political surrogates. I didn't like it any better when I saw our side use their young children to promote anti-war or anti-Bush messages. Kids are kids. Leave them out of it.

I guess my advice as a parent who went through all this is to just chill. Your kid will be great, will learn from your moral and ethical example, and will turn out to be a fine person. Being in a Boy Scout troop for a while with his friends won't change that.